GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The first Knysna Film Festival will take place from 29 October to 2 November at the Knysna Waterfront precinct, Thesen Harbour Town and at the Premier Resort, the Moorings.
The intimate festival aims to give filmmakers an opportunity to engage with audiences as the organisers believe in diversity, not only of people, but of films.
The Garden Route is a unique area with a vast diversity of locations and a wealth of local creative talent. As an emerging film industry area, the Garden Route has incentives and ease of permitting to promote the region as a new destination for film.
The film festival is a first major step in promoting local filmmakers and the region.
Knysna has a diversity of activities in the local surrounds and Knysna Tourism will also be doing family tours for the industry players.
The venues have been chosen to encourage not only industry players, but also local and international visitors to watch the films. The line-up includes premieres, short films and feature films. The judging panel includes top names such as Karen Cifarelli who will judge feature films while Sean Cameron Michael will concentrate on short films.
Karen Cifarelli
Karen Cifarelli has worked in many areas of the film industry, both in front of and behind the camera. During her time in Los Angeles, she worked for Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope and later for the Jacobson Company. After moving to Germany, Karen acted as consultant and producer for Underdog Pictures GmbH.
For the last 10 years she has worked as an international talent manager, as owner of Cifarelli Talent Consulting. She is a member of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and a judge of the international Emmy Awards.
Karen Cifarelli
Sean Cameron Michael
The respected veteran South African-born screenwriter, actor and writer Sean Cameron Michael is regarded as one of the country's most successful exports to Los Angeles, where he has been based for the past five years.
Sean Cameron Michael.
With over 100 TV and film credits notched up over the past three decades, Michael has worked with top international actors, directors and producers including Sir Ridley Scott, Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.
Since 2012 Michael has been a judge for the Emmy Awards, the Emmy TV College Awards, the Prime Time Emmy Awards and the SA Indie Film Festival.
Maximum exposure
The festival will see the launch of the Intimater project to ensure maximum exposure and the Match programme which encourages education in film. Events, social networking opportunities, workshops and discussion panels will all be centred around the films.
The festival will open with cocktails and premiere with Fiela se kind and will end with an awards gala event. For more information click here. Bookings through Computicket.
'We bring you the latest Garden Route news'
